Manchester United Banter Archive September 01 2014

01 Sep 2014 23:00:04
"It’s a dream come true to join a club like Manchester United, one of the biggest clubs in the world, ” he said. “I’ve always dreamt about playing for one of the truly great teams and winning lots of trophies. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity and you can’t turn that down.”
It has been reported that United will pay the striker around £250,000-a-week and have the option to sign him on a permanent basis for just over £40m at the end of the season."

If the above is true woodward has done a very good deal here. Assuming he is healthy strikers like him come around every 10 years.

02 Sep 2014 00:20:10
Is it Woodward or the mysterious third party?

And is third party David Gill?

It will be interesting to see if we are willing to pay £34m for a 29 year old next summer. I suppose it will depend on how he gets on this season.

02 Sep 2014 01:58:36
Is it a guaranteed 34m next year?

01 Sep 2014 22:12:19
So it looks like TC is a money grabber and is prepared to go a year without football so he can get a few extra pounds in his pocket it will serve him right if the only clubs who want him next summer are in the championship

01 Sep 2014 22:09:09
Not wanting to pour cold water on an exciting transfer window. but is anyone else concerned about the lack of pace in the team. Wellbeck on his way out and only Di Marea in with pace.
Also, our potential soft centre and lack of CB.
However, following the Ed's view that our rebuild will take 3 windows I should be happy that these buys.

Umm. Blind is going to play cdm and he's no pushover. Falcao has got a bit of pace as have adm and januzaj.
So let's be happy with the tw. It is 100% better than last year.

Personally I feel what we needed was a great defensive midfielder and a strong centre back then after that use the creative genius of Mata, Herera and Di Maria to rip teams apart and get Rooney and RVP the supply they need to be effective.

01 Sep 2014 21:27:34
Does anybody know the latest on marcos rojo is his work permit getting sorted yet?

Still not sorted - although looks like it will be in time for him to feature in our next game.

01 Sep 2014 22:38:36
This window was like sending your spouse out to get milk and eggs and they come back with lobster and filet mignon. No one is going to complain about eating that, but it doesn't really fit the bill for what's needed. I'm going to love watching united attack this season, but considering for three months we've needed an elite bc and dcm and came out with neither, I'm wondering why I'm eating lobster and steak for breakfast when all I really want is some eggs and a glass of milk.

A better analogy would be:

United are like your Mrs needing a life saving heart transplant, but going in for a boob job instead. Might look good, but it ain't solve her problems.

A better analogy would be:

United are like your wife getting third degree burns on her face and needing plastic surgery but getting a boob job and a paper bag instead. Her face is still a mess - but you're too busy marveling the new boobs to notice.

01 Sep 2014 21:43:14
Wellbeck made it . found a milk bottle for the sample . Arsenal offer of £16 million accepted .

01 Sep 2014 21:34:20
Time to eat some humble pie. Hold my hand up and congratulate woodward on a job well done.i ve been very critical of him. falcao demaria shaw rojjo herrara and blind. Is a great piece of work. Did nt expect such quality signings. Brought some pride back in the club after last years embaracement.

01 Sep 2014 22:11:51
Fair play Woodward good job. I would be interested to see if the financing of the signings become almost self financing via Merchandise like Real ad Barca's.

We've bought from the top shelf and bought well.

Like how they stood firm with Everton on the loan deal too

Utd Road - If Falcao is the difference between us getting champions league football then the £6m loan fee and £10m in wages will be money well spent.

Signing him has also allowed us to shift Welbeck and Chico. That's potentially £40m (if RM exercise their right to buy) plus around £120k off of the wage bill (£6m + per season). It will also allow Wilson the chance to take a place in the first team (this will prove invaluable for his development).

01 Sep 2014 21:25:46
It's three seasons worth of quality signings I'm thrilled of the players we have signed things don't look good three games in but the fear factor will start to creep in and our squad will dictate results big clubs small ones I have faith it will come together a bigger bonus will be nicking points off the top 4 5 clubs it can be done on the run of games they will be up there in top 4/5 at Christmas I'll put money on it city have allready been beat Chelsea bad result it's not impossible the players that have come in and the rest of the squad could rival any team in world football I hope it falls into place quick but the quality that's there it won't take long we will soon have our fortress back mufc have faith believe

01 Sep 2014 21:01:55
Tom Cleverley loan to Everton / Welbeck loan to Arsenal could be good moves

Worst case they don't play and get sold.

Best case they play rejuvenate and come back when we are CL and need a bigger squad and home grown players or get sold for more than they are worth right now.

Loaners can't play against parent but can play against others.

Welbeck now looking like a permanent deal. £16m.

01 Sep 2014 21:21:53
Tv saying welbeck isn't a loan, £16m. I'm gutted, local lad loved the club and gave everything.

Wellbeck to arsenal for 16m . Cheap hen you think lukaku was 28m

They are permanent deals.

I would have asked at least £25m for welbeck. But I didn't want him to go. I think gcu will soon realise how good welbeck is. He's young and a local lad, he loves United. Wish it is only a loan deal.

01 Sep 2014 22:06:28
£16m way too cheap £20m would be fair.

Cleverley £8m would be good.

It's be said before we sell far too cheap.

01 Sep 2014 23:21:50
Now now, NM. No room for sentiment in football. It's all about winning, after all ;)

01 Sep 2014 20:46:45
What a great window but once again some nonsense being spouted on here.

Cleverley has a contract on very high wages, if he wants to see it out then that's his right. Why should be take a 50% pay cut? I think he should go but it's his right to choose.

And Welbeck, we are selling him but we can veto where he goes? We signed RVP from Arsenal, we signed Mata from Cheslea but some fans are saying we should not sell Welbeck to Arsenal. Sorry Danny mate, we don't want you but you're not going to your preferred destination (assuming it is Arsenal). Get yourself off to Palace or QPR.

And, we still.have people moaning we didn't sign a midfielder. I'm sure we tried but never the less look at who we have brought in. It's going to be wild!

Rant over, good night

He has every right to see out his contract - but he'll likely do so in the reserves. If he values money more than he values his career then that is up to him. I'd perhaps understand if Villa were offering him minimum wage - but that's simply not the case. He'd probably still earn more annually than 99.995% of the population. Greedy.

On Welbeck - of course we can choose who we sell him to. He is contracted with the club for the immediate future - and just like Arsenal did with Vermaelen and RVP; we should make the deal as difficult as possible. I think we should loan him out to them with an option to buy at the end of the season. It's pretty much the same deal for all involved but means that he won't be able to come back and bite us in the ass when we play them later in the season and that if he suddenly starts playing well we could bring him back. Arsenal desperately need a striker and so we should hold all of the power in the negotiations (who else are they going to bring in this late in the day?). Welbeck playing for them against us this season could easily be the difference between us finishing fourth or fifth.

Cleverley is demanding £60k a week according to Shahram. That's 50% more than he is getting at MU. He's playing hardball which like you said is his right. Think of it this way, if he ran his contract down, then he would be getting £60k a week minimum, so if he's being forced to move on, then I guess he has every right to ask for what he wants.

Sydney

It tells you what his priorities are and it is clear it is not playing football. If we go by your view that he is on 30k to 40k a week and hardly plays for us now will almost get no game time and given our size and ability to pay wages that most other can't, what on earth does he believe he is worth 60k or 70k a week.

I love this homegrown thing people talk about in reality they are paid employees and they are not bleeding hearts for the club.

It'll given him to time to work on TC23™.

In all honesty though, I just think we have a player here with a massively inflated option of his own talent, and is refusing to accept that he should play for a smaller club. Other players would leave to prove themselves, Cleverley doesn't think he needs to prove himself to anyone. I'm just amazed it failed to spark a bidding war in Spain when he was put up for sale. He's just as good as Xavi you know?

01 Sep 2014 22:01:52
I agree it's his right, Tony, but where does professional pride kick in?

I'd personally rather play week in, week out, and be considered an integral part of a team, rather than sit in the reserves, or in the stands. It's not like he's going to be earning buttons.

Just thought he was a bit better than that.

As for Danny, I agree totally. People saying we shouldn't play ball with Arsenal because of Vermaelen. What about RVP? Good luck to the lad. Why should he go to a smaller club, when the likes of Arsenal come knocking, and we've made it clear he's not wanted at Utd? Hope it works out for him. Still think there's a player in there. Just needs a good run of games. Wenger could turn him into a very decent player,

He's forced his stay by pricing himself out of a move, he is running his contract down. Expect a season in the U21's Tom.

01 Sep 2014 19:47:27
I would like to see Danny Welbeck go to Arsenal, but only on loan, and here is why.

When Thierry Henry arrived he was a winger and rubbish as a striker, but through good coaching he was turned into a world beater. Theo Walcott was all pace when he arrived from Southampton and could not hit a barn door with a banjo, because much like Welbeck when he had time to think his finishing was horrible, but again with time and good coaching we started to see a quick and good finisher last year, shame Theo got injured just as he was starting to build momentum.

If Arsenal can do the same with Danny, we will ultimately benefit. So here is hoping Danny goes on loan and comes back a goal machine. Don't sell Danny. He is a local boy, works hard and understands what it means to be a united player.

Can't fix bambi on ice skates mate.

01 Sep 2014 20:05:59
I agree with absolutely everything you have said.

01 Sep 2014 21:08:07
Gutted, Danny has been sold. Hope there is a buy back clause. Good luck Danny.

Watch this space Danny will end up being a world beater. At least england will benefit. Theo, the ox and chamberlain in the same side. Chambers at the back. Good core of English players.

01 Sep 2014 21:17:22
Forgot they have wilshire as well. Who would have thought arsenal with a strong British core when you add Ramsey to the mix where as utd are now fc jonny foreigner.

Only to be expected with a foreign coach. Not sure if it's for the best. Utd have a proud tradition of British core complemented by foreign importance.

Huggy

Honestly how can you say that mate. He is clueless and has terrible balance and can't score.

The reason we are where we are and have had to spend 170 million is players like him, cleverly, nani, Anderson, young have been kept around year after year on this notion that they are young and will come good.

The reality is they were never good enough and we have watched a team go from being unbelievable good in 2009 to almost unrecognisable with averageness in 5 years.

I am so glad we are clearing the deck, as they are the reason we are where we are.

He will do nothing at Arsenal but frustrate them now. Good luck to him and wish him the best but 100k wages, are you serious?

01 Sep 2014 21:30:51
Isn't Wenger a foreign coach too?

Hope it is only loan deal. Welbeck will make it. He's young and has lots of time. We'll be silly to sell him.
Let "winger" coach him and turn him into a good player then we'll have him back.

Nomid

So fergie and everyone else were bad coaches and arsene will wave his magic wand and turn him into cavani? LOL

Sure he can run and he is big but that is were it stops. How many assists does he have and when was the last time you saw a him make a great pass or cross.

Talent is something you are born with, and you can't teach balance given his physique and you definitely can't teach footballing brain and I am amused by how everyone is suddenly complaining us losing paid employees of the club who are under performing.

I am glad we are finally cleansing the place and getting on with things.

Im not complaining about cleverly or hernandez or zaha being let go. But welbeck has something about him. In the two games against Real he was awesome did you forget that? If played in his right position, he's very good.
Having said all that, he asked and wanted the move so goodbye and good luck.

01 Sep 2014 19:11:41
Surely we will stop the 3 5 2 and move to 433 now. Shaw Jones Rojo Rafael in defence. Herrera and Blind in the middle. Mata behind a front 3 of Rooney/ RVP Falcao ADM Januzaj back up wide man or number 10. Strootman coming in Jan as IV said all summer. Next summerr Hummels and maybe a right back plus a few squad players for champions league depth

I don't think ADM will be back up anything
Valencia RB, smalling and rojo CB, Shaw LB, Blind CDM dropping back to make a back 3, di Maria and Herrera RM and LM with Mata behind Rooney and Falcao while RVP undergoes surgery or Rooney behind RVP and Falcao!

I think it may be in the best interest of the team to drop mata and play januzaj on the wing with rooney as the number 10. Rooney can't beat a man and doesn't have the pace he used to have to play out wide.

£60 million for a back up

I think he meant a front 3 of Di Maria, plus two of Rooney, RvP and Falcao, with Januzaj as back up, rather than Di Maria as back up.

Januzzaj back up. Rooney/ RvP, falcao, di Maria.

Ok the original posts lack of punctuation made it slightly obscure but seriously guys use your brains before posting!

01 Sep 2014 20:03:12
Think you guys misinterpreted. He said Rooney or RVP with Falcao and Di Maria as the front 3.

With Januzaj being the back up.

I think he meant just januzaj as backup. rooney or rvp to being the other maybe in his team

01 Sep 2014 20:22:24
ADM is wide in the front 3, Januzaj is back up for out wide or number 10. RTFP. Mata is far better number 10 than Rooney. I think Rooney will play on the left of the front 3 but will not be hugging the touchline, more of an inside forward, ADM. will provide width on the right but will also cut inside. Full backs will b expected to get forward and put balls in the box

01 Sep 2014 20:22:25
He never said ADM would be back up.

Whoa whoa back up there guys.
lol

01 Sep 2014 18:52:39
Di maria and hopefully Falcao done and dusted. Backed up with Herrera, blind, Rojo & Shaw, maybe even one more yet? You never know. Now that's what I call a transfer window. I know we have a couple of glaring holes in our team but who cannot fail to get excited with the attacking players coming in. There aren't many teams in the world who could pull off a window like that with the calibre and potential of the signings that have been made. Was lying round the pool earlier with some vino and turned on my phone to see the Falcao news. I'm sure I got a bit excited and did something in the front of my trunks. Can't wait for it to hopefully start coming together soon but it would appear that a big name will need to miss out in the big games wether it's 352 or 433, nice problem to have though.

01 Sep 2014 18:47:55
Happy with Falcon but am still worried about the back and centre mid. A lot of people are saying that it for us!

Wot do people think?

I think Shappy said it earlier in the day. Contrary to what a lot of pundits and United fans have been saying the defence has not looked that awful at stopping the other team (MK Dons excluded). The problem has been distribution and transition. Without a genuine 3 midfielders ahead of them and makeshift wingbacks there simply isn't the confidence or ability in the team to move quickly enough to pressure the opponents. Against Burnley the backs had to resort to long balls.

You can blame the system but it was the same last year when we played a different system.

Of course we will look to improve the defence in the future but if we don't have a midfield and attack that can score goals then there's no chance of us getting back into the mix. Hopefully the signings we've made will at least get us moving in the right direction. Given how we've started the season beating Spurs and Everton for 5th spot would at least demonstrate a club on the mend.

01 Sep 2014 18:24:59
Welbeck havin a medical at arsenal. why we even letting this happen? Wasnt he going to be part of the deal for vermaelen? And then they said they wouldn't sell him to us and sold to barca?

No that was reported as Smalling.

01 Sep 2014 18:08:15
In the last 9 months;
Manchester United: Mata, Di Maria, Falcao
Liverpool: Lallana, Markovic, Balloteli
United with no champions leauge signed 3 of the best players in their positions in the world. The biggest club in the planet!

It's also worth noting that three players deemed surplus to requirements have gone/will go to Champions League clubs (Kagz, Welbs and Chico).

01 Sep 2014 18:49:27
It's worth noting they are among the under performers who contributed to us not getting CL

Utd Road - That's exactly my point. Players who are not good enough for us are for teams like Real Madrid, Dortmund and Arsenal. We're finally aiming at the best players rather than settling for second best.

01 Sep 2014 17:49:13
Just seen vidal and hummels going in lou's chippy

01 Sep 2014 18:30:11
I've been waiting for one of these all day, I knew I wouldn't be left disappointed :-)
cheers MB

01 Sep 2014 17:39:15
Liverpool fan in peace!

I would love to know what Man United fans think of your squad now?

For years I have looked at the United squad and been quietly jealous of the strength you had throughout the team!

Now however I look at our squad against yours and I think it is the first time I can honestly, hand on heart, say that I think Liverpool have the better squad.

I look at United and think that you are incredibly top heavy, whilst having some amazing attacking talent (especially if Falcao is completed today) your central midfield and defence to me looks very ropey. Which is ironic, because that's how Liverpool have been for years!

Anyway, hopefully this can be a bit of a light hearted discussion.

Cheers all

I'd like to help you out but I have no idea which way you came in.

Your assessment of our squad is pretty accurate although I'd still prefer our squad to yours.

Our attacking options are considerably better and there are only two Liverpool players who would improve our starting 11 (Sakho and Henderson/Gerrard). Possibly Sterling too if we were going to play with wingers.

Conversely; Rooney, Mata, Di Maria, RVP, Falcao, De Gea and Rafael would improve Liverpool whilst players like Shaw, Rojo, Herrera and Januzaj are at least as good as the likes of Moreno, Lovren, Allen and Lallana.

I hear you and totally agree. We have a great striker force, an unbalanced midfield and a shallow defence. We need a Yaya Toure kind of midfielder, a Roy Keane back in defence and a Sol Campbell back there. Our back is easily exposed and jittery on set pieces.

While all that is said, once we have Rojo, Herera, Blind, Di Maria and Mata clicking, we will be a nasty mean attacking team with very creative players in all sections of the field. It will also mean our bench is rich and deep and that is something we have not had for the past 3yrs. Cleverly, Anderson, Nani, Young are all not United Calibre, they were a drag. Smalling is coming up but goodness he is not what we need to win the league with what all the top 4 done with their teams and benches

There is a squad that's happy playing with confidence and a squad struggling with confidence. Man for man we have a far better squad, but when you cannot gel or string two passes together, then having better players is irrelevant. Football is a team game and Liverpool are an excellent team. We have better individuals, but we are poor as a team. That will change with time. but no doubt you are the better team.

When you are playing well and winning your players look great, when it goes pear-shaped the same player look poor. That's football.

01 Sep 2014 18:01:52
Yeah I know what you mean. I'd swap RvP, Falcao, Rooney, Di Maria, Herrera, Januzaj, Blind, Rojo and Shaw for Lambert, Lallana, Ballotelli. Errr no, no I probably wouldn't.

Couldnt agree more, nice to see a liverpool fan looking to hold a sensible discussion about football matters rather than winding up, agree with your summary, were very top heavy, we have wealth of talent in attacking areas although our wide men are abysmal other than januzaj, were desperate for a midfield general to allow the matas of this world to flourish, get a leader in at the back to babysit these defenders we've had for years and should either be ready to stand up and show there worth or shipped out and we have a title challenging squad. letting vidic go is a school boy error.

01 Sep 2014 18:07:52
In a joint starting 11 I think our keeper 1 CB jones LB(shaw) di maria rvp falcao would all start sterling lovern henderson and either allen or gerard would start the team would have to play with 10 men as neither side have a top right back. the bench would be liverpool heavy

Really nice to see a couple of people being able to hold a sensible conversation.

It's worth pointing out that I never said that United didn't have top players, or that individually they had some better players, I said that I thought Liverpool's SQUAD was better.

There are many things that make that up, youth, experience, the way the players work together, the way they buy into the philosophy, the ability to play multiple systems and the ability to bounce back from set backs.

United obviously have some amazing individual players, my comment was purely that the squad, whilst talented, seems unbalanced, much like Liverpool's did for many years.

Wait till we put a full team out there and then we can discuss teams and squads. No comparison in my mind mate. Only 352 holding us back. 4231 or 433 and we will be off to the races.

The media is quite fickle and a couple of games smashing teams they will all suddenly rave about how good and unplayable we are.

RedDawn - I'd say the key element in squad strength is the quality of the players. Of course things like confidence and cohesion are important - but these are things that will come with time. Our confidence will grow as results start to go our way and chemistry will grow as the players get used to each other; but players like Rickie Lambert, Squirtle, Mignolet, Johnson, Toure, Lucas, Allen and Borini aren't suddenly going to become great players.

Liverpool have a squad of decent players whilst Manchester United have a squad with some genuine world class players. You've said on multiple occasions that our squad is unbalanced and implied that yours is well rounded - and whilst I agree with you that we're top-heavy - I think that your defense is as weak as ours and will prove just as leaky over the course of 38 games.

The only area of the pitch where you have us beat for squad depth is in central midfield (it's worth remembering that if Hendo and Gerrard were to pick up injuries you'd be left with Lucas and Allen who aren't any better than what we have). The other 9 spots we have you matched or bettered and our back-up players are no worse than yours.

Reddawn. Actually while I disagree about your assessment as individuals. We have the superior individuals by far. But BR has got Liverpool playing as a team, while we're still searching for that, injuries and a load of new faces, have not helped.
But if and when lvg gets this team playing as he wants them, I think we're going to be a handful for anyone.

Lallana who got in a lot of teams of the year playing in an 8th place team isn't (currently) better than Januzaj?

In what situation will Falcao, Rooney, RVP, Mata and Di Maria all play together. Will it be a Moyes late game scramble again?

Sturridge - top English scorer. Sterling - scored 9 and assisted 5 at the age of 19! Coutinho blows hot and cold, but is still only 22. Same with Balotelli. The average age of the back four against Spurs was 22.75. Henderson is fast becoming a world class talent. Allen is still only 24 and is a great squad player.

You shouldn't be so quick to brush off the majority of a strengthened squad that finished 20 points above you last season and still outscored you without Suarez's goals (which would mean playing with 10 men).

Did the dominance of Germany show nothing at the World Cup, along with the successes of drilled squads such as USA, Costa Rica, Chile, Columbia.

I'm not trying to say your team doesn't have good players, but just defended Liverpool.

01 Sep 2014 16:39:26
Hey ed do you think we'll get anymore players before the window closes, and is the falcao deal really done and if so is it loan or buy

{Ed002's Note - Read the posts.}

01 Sep 2014 17:55:59
Best

Falcao landed in Manchester just before 18.00 this evening so just a matter of time now. Patience!

Could still go to City Charlatan

01 Sep 2014 16:31:46
Hi Ed's

In your humble opinion do you think our business is now finished for this window?

{Ed002's Note - I have no humble opinions, but I expect at least Blind and Falcao to happen still.}

01 Sep 2014 16:31:08
What about Sandro from spurs as a midfield destroyer? Has had a few injuries, but does not get pushed around in the middle of the park. Cheaper than carvalho and Vidal.

He's a decent player, but he gets injured an awful lot. We already have enough of them players :0)

Personally if we don't get Vidal or carvallho due to fee I hope we get de Jong.as a midfid destroyer who will allow the rest of the team plough forward he is excellent.
We need some energy and bite to drive us forward.

01 Sep 2014 18:58:42
Was thinking the same thing earlier, mate, when I saw QPR were interested. He's sort of become the forgotten man of premiership football - I remember he was highly regarded by many on here, including me, when he first arrived.

Injuries are the problem though.

01 Sep 2014 19:27:36
he imo is an amazing player and 1 if he could stay would be a very good player for us, i'm guessing injurys are the reasons behind less interest from others

01 Sep 2014 16:09:52
All,
Reading a few updates that Carvalhio deal could still be done today. United not looking to pay more than £25 million but a late bid could go in and be enough for SL on deadline day.
Eds can you confirm any of this?

{Ed002's Note - What are you expecting me to say. I have explained that both Arsenal and MU are interested but the longer it goes on the less likely anything is to happen as clubs cannot get a replacement. That is where we are.}

Do you see it as a possibility that we could offer a player in a part exchange e.g. Anderson?

{Ed004's Note - No}

Without wanting to ask the same question.i will ask anyway. Could there possibly be a loan swap with Anderson so SL have themselves covered and we have option to buy next year.

01 Sep 2014 15:55:16
India has come up with our own league ISL this year and its a great chance for domestic players
to learn the trade from players like Ronaldinho, Del Piero, David Trezeguet, David James, Pires, Raul Garcia and many more.
Looking forward to the start of the Season.

Mumbai city FC is likely to sign Florent Malouda :)

ED's please post this on the site :P :P

{Ed002's Note - I spoke with David James about 10 days ago about his role as player/manager with Kerala Blasters. I wonder if owner, Sachin Tendulkar, will get a game. If there is enough interest and we can find a moderator or two we might be able to set up a page for discussion about it. Cut and paste this to the Liverpool page and I will post it there later as well.}

01 Sep 2014 16:28:12
Dont know about Sachin But DADA(Sourav Ganguly) Might play :P

Anyways Thanks :)

01 Sep 2014 17:30:04
Id be interested, I think its a good idea. Big fan of the ipl 20twenty competition, hopefully this can have a similar impact.

MU_DEVIL I will also be supporting Mumbai City FC

01 Sep 2014 18:16:16
May be we'll Meet at D Y Patil stadium bro. Just waiting for the tournament to start :)

01 Sep 2014 15:10:47
Any of the eds about I know it's a busy day but we're all wondering. Is there any chance of bringing in a CM or CB today. Sky sports saying after Falcao that's it for this window?

{Ed002's Note - The club had the chance with Carvalho but did not push before the weekend. Teams are closing up shop as they cannot replace players in the time available. See what happens.}

We've had all summer to strengthen our biggest weakness: defence. Phil Jones is going to be a busy lad. Our defence will get moidered by the likes of Chelsea and City.

With all this attacking talent, I think one of those midfield spots may be handed to Rooney or Di Maria. there's only room for one Deeper MF if that is the case. We have that man already - Herrera!

We might even see the manager go to 2 centre backs instead of three, in which case we are not quite as bad off depending how good Rojo turns out to be.

Jones/Rojo CB pairing. Iv been imressed with Jones so far this season. At 22 he isn't as much a risk as Smalling, who is in danger of going off the boil at 24.

24 seems to be a dangerous age for United "prospects." Some like Flectcher overcame that barrier. Others like Nani, Cleverly, Anderson etc. have come unstuck around that period.

Although his growth has not been rapid by any means, Jones may be clear of his teething period by the time he reaches 24. If he is it will be a bonus to both the player and United.

01 Sep 2014 14:50:01
We used to moan about needing a CM LB and Winger.Imagine If someone told us after the WC we would get RoJo, Shaw, Di Maria, Blind, Herrera and Flacao!
What an amazing window this has been! On another note: I find it sad how Anderson's career is playing out. Huge potential its such a shame he/we couldn't find a way to manage his fitness

01 Sep 2014 14:24:26
Afternoon eds!

Moussa Dembele, could he be a possible midfield candidate at man utd?

Thanks

{Ed002's Note - No, I wouldn't think so.}

Thanks ed!

01 Sep 2014 14:20:23
Come on Ed 2 you must have some info you can pass on for us at this stage, are we still trying for a midfielder today?

{Ed002's Note - There is nothing worth saying at this time.}

01 Sep 2014 13:57:27
Maybe another twitter rumour but we are being linked with Joao Moutinho for around £15m, not sure about this one but it is deadline day.

01 Sep 2014 13:28:02
Apparently we had scouts at the last Juventus and sporting Lisbon games so looks like we are definitely still in for anether CM even with Blind coming in.
With Dejong and Strootman known to Van Gaal we have at least 4 in the mixer.probably FFP will be a consideration as to who we go for.
Still think we also need a bit of pace out wide to keep teams guessing.

01 Sep 2014 13:25:27
I am not moaning or complaining but I am just worried and concerned.

In the past LvG had given opportunities to young academy players and turned them into brilliant players.

Just wondering how will Januzaj and Blackett find playing time with the signings that we've made this season?


It's scary that other than Januzaj, Blackett and Wilson there are no youngsters who look like making it into the starting 11 at the moment.

Once Rojo comes in Blackett won't find any playing time(certainly won't be a starter)

Januzaj who inspite of being a bigger threat that Rooney and RvP so far this season has not been starting games.

And obviously Wilson will not be played before Rooney, RvP and Falcao.



Again i'm not complaining or moaning but I am just plain worried and concerned.
Does anyone else see these kids getting chances this season? And I don't mean 5 starts and 10 sub appearances.

Wilson will have a better chance with two strikers leaving.

Adnan will be a difficult one due to there being no wingers.

Blackett could play a big part this season. There's no issue.

Weve got some good youngsters at utd but other than the 3 youve already mentioned plus michael keane, there not yet ready in my opinion to be knocking on the door of the 1st team.

01 Sep 2014 13:17:57
Falcao isn't a striker that is versatile and play across the.line. he's a no9, as a main striker when he hits form he's the best finisher in the world, In his prime years now, no excuse for United not to be in the top 4 now

Look at BigAL with the mind games. Pressure is on now lads. lol

Joking aside, Falcoa is a great CF. But then so is RvP when fit and on form. Our problem is creating the chances for him. Should be a different story now though with DiMaria, Januzaj, Rooney, Mata available.

Top 4? we aren't liverpool, top 4 is not our aim despite our bad start and awful year last season, we aim every year to win the league because we are man utd, you used to be the same only it was that long ago you probably can't remember or maybe you wernt even born :-)

Betty when.would I play mind games? ;)
RVP had one.good season and the injurys are catching up on him as too his age. Falcoa is.coming back from a serious knee injury so we shall see if he still has that extra yard of pace. Fantastic finisher, will the team create enough chances? Long season ahead

You're right, Al.

If only we were able to offer Champions League football next season - we might have been able to compete with Liverpool for the signings of Rickie Lambert and Adam Lallana.

I suppose we'll have to settle for Falcao and Di Maria.

Stretford sorry kid its.your TOM but United have a very very small chance.of winning the league. No midfield and a poor defense. Liverpool aim to win.the league but will fall short. Were realistic unlike you chap ;)

01 Sep 2014 13:02:37
Was anybody else surprised by how cheap Kagawa went for I struggle to see why more clubs were not in for him at that price

I imagine the player will have preferred a move back to Dortmund. I'm surprised that the fee was so low - but I suppose if Kagz only wanted Dortmund we had to accept.

01 Sep 2014 13:08:26
because he has done nothing here for 2+ years and had a shocker of a wc and eventually lost his place in a sh1t japan team so maybe he actually is not as good as you think

Yes 6.5 million pounds is very very cheap for a player of his quality and marketing value.

Dortmund of all the clubs would know the real worth of Kagawa and would have paid a bit more had we negotiated.

Buttering up Dortmund must have something to do with it. We want several of their players so doing the decent thing now and losing a few extra million could be well worth it in the long run. More teams would have bid more than £6.5mil if it was an open sale imo.

01 Sep 2014 12:30:59
The scoring stats for Falcao are unbelievable, what a coup with the one year loan with option to buy. Did anybody even know of any man utd interest in Falcao, I think there's going to be some huge surprises coming on today. got to love deadline day.

Stu

News broke last night. I wondered whether we might move for Cavani this window but am pleasantly surprised by Falcao. The best striker in the world.

01 Sep 2014 12:22:39
I think our business could be done after Falcao and Blind. Could we see us move to 2 CB's with Blind playing DM and dropping back to make the 3! Like Syd said Herrera an di Maria centre mid Rooney behind RVP and Falcao, could mean mata loses out unless RVP goes for surgery!

01 Sep 2014 12:01:02
Ed
Im getting abit conserned now its deadline day and we still haven't signed a established snd experiences cb or a defensive cm. Which I though would have been our priority any update of this or who you might think could arrive?
Thanks in advance busy day ahead hopefully some suprises on the way today lads ;)

{Ed002's Note - I am not going to speculate.}

01 Sep 2014 12:18:25
Daley Blind will be announced later today Mo.

01 Sep 2014 11:34:07
Cleverly to Villa loks like a done deal.

Yes as Villa have just sold a midfielder themselves. Also reports from ESPN are saying we are still trying to sign another midfielder.

Hope it will be a sale and not loan. GCU, Syd anything on Welbeck?

He's got to be Spurs bound hasn't he? Although maybe keep an eye on Sunderland.

Syd

I do not believe we will let Welbeck go to Spurs and think he will stay put. If RVP is crooked we will definitely stay with 3 strikers.

I aslo don't think we should do Levy any favours and let him suffer.

01 Sep 2014 11:20:24
for a chap who is reportadly not keen on south americans LVG is stocking them up. 1 more in vidal and we look to be in much better shape.

01 Sep 2014 11:09:53
massive outlay this season but if it goes well and we get top 4,next few years we will have player's wanting to join and letting contracts run down to force the moves similar to kross/levindovski/rakatic

01 Sep 2014 11:00:04
People saying we need midfielders and defenders which is obviously true but come on who doesn't want us to sign a world class striker? It might not be what we need but who cares? You score 6 we'll score 7!

It's exciting but most people think we already have the most frightening forward 3 in the prem, but they have looked the worst so far this season. It's all about what happens behind them and getting them the ball in the right areas. Major step forward though.

I hope we start attacking teams properly because it would be potentially even better than anything we have seen before.

That will only work if we start attacking teams again

Beast, that's not true at all. RVP is not looking right and has not looked right for 12 months. He has an injury and needs an op most likely. AT his age, full recovery is unlikely.
Rooney seems a waste of space at the moment and against Burnley, he was non existent.
Falcao is one of the top 3 strikers in the world, even you must surely recognize that?
I've said for the past few weeks that our strike force could struggle, and that is how it has proved so far.
We've conceded only three goals but scored only two. Part of that can be attributed to the system, but we got two excellent chances against Burnley and wasted them both. Need a clinical finisher and if Falcao is fit and healthy, you are going to be pretty impressed.

NoMidfield. I wrote a massive blog saying how Mata, RVP & Rooney all need dropping, check out the blogs page mate.

01 Sep 2014 10:49:09
Yipee, Falcao coming to OT.At last we have a team sheet to put the fear of God in to teams even before a ball is kicked.
Pushing it now but a quality CM would be the icing on a very big cake.
Don't know if it is heaven or dreamland I'm in.
Thankyou Mr WOODWARD you mightn't be that bad after all!:)

01 Sep 2014 10:45:20
I am hoping for a strong midfielder like the every fan, but what I was how long does a medical take and can they be done at their old clubs? Thinking that if they have not started a medical by 6pm tonight that would be it really or can a medical be done before the price / wages are agreed? Vidals medical would be more detailed if reports of concern about his knee is true or have we all resigned ourselves that its not going to happen.

01 Sep 2014 10:29:00
Radamel Falcao to united is completed. HOWEVER, early reports state that he is joining on a one year loan deal. While I'm thrilled to have him, can any of the eds or posters shed any light on why this was what falcao wanted and if the loan deal has a purchase option next summer? Thx!

{Ed002's Note - No, we are not going to waste time on people second guess contract terms.}

Does it really matter at this point? Assuming the knee injury he suffered last season hasn't had too much of a negative impact on his performance; we have just signed the best striker in the world. Right now I'm excited by that. We can worry about the terms of the agreement tomorrow.

Loan fee, no more than £9m some journos are saying. Not sure what percentage of of wages are being paid. I'd guess all of it. There is an option to buy.

01 Sep 2014 10:26:01
Loaning out Hernandez and loaning in Falcao has just lifted Woody up a few notches as far as I'm concerned. What a great piece of business if it goes through.

Could he be lifted to Uber God status by pulling off the Vidal deal?!

Rooney
Falcao
Wilson

Thats a very good bunch of strikers.

(Assuming Welbz/Chicha will be loaned and RvP will be out due to surgery)

Thank god, it's a loan deal. We still need to strengthen our defence and midfield and whatever the cash we got left, I hope Ed Woodward spents wisely in bringing some quality in those areas.

So far, our transfer dealings have been full of surprises and nobody knows what's going on - WOW.

01 Sep 2014 10:42:14
Stories in yesterday's papers about RVP needing knee surgery , maybe this is connected to the Falcao deal

We would worship him for real!

I'm so conflicted at the moment. Di Maria and Falcao alone are beyond anything I could have wished for this window. Still need a DM and CB though.

I'm the same Redseven, it's great stuff bringing in attackers. It would be funny if our next one is Petr Cech on loan or something like that, we need some authority and energy badly.

CM & CB in that order please Woody.

01 Sep 2014 10:16:56
BBC reporting a loan deal is agreed for Radamel Falcao to join Manchester United, subject to a medical and personal terms being agreed.

01 Sep 2014 10:15:32
Hi Eds,

I know you must be sick to death of answering questions with regard to midfielders but aside from blind is it at all possible that a deal could be struck for a centre mid today and is there still time for a deal done?

I won't ask names as I know have you have let us know were interest lies all summer long.

Thanks,

{Ed002's Note - Of course there is time. Why ask a question when the answer is the obvious?}

Ok Thanks for the reply.

Is the player who shall remain nameless as I am sure you are bored of hearing it still a possibility?

Thanks,

01 Sep 2014 10:02:41
If these falcao rumours are real. Then why? Why pay that price for him with a dodgy knee but not vidal. I can only assume were selling wellbeck or moving Rooney back to midfield. Which I can't see happening. He isn't much different to our current strikers.

Ryan quality-wise I think he is better than all our strikers.

But yes I agree with you. What's the logic in over-paying on a 28 yr old Falcao with a recent injury but penny pinching for a 27 yr old Vidal?

Falcao and Van Persie upfront with Rooney behind looks pretty good to me. But if Van Persie got us Vidal, then I would go with that too.

I agree quality wise he is better but if we were signing a striker i'd want something a bit different I.e. Remy someone with pace who beats a man.

With Hernandez and possibly Wellbeck moving on loan(for more game time) and RVP needing a Op on his knee, we would be short of strikers with only Rooney and possibly Wilson and Will Keane. But, at the price quoted we would be better off strengthening our defence and midfield.

01 Sep 2014 10:25:17
Falcao RVP and Rooney is the same problem we've got at the moment with Rooney RVP and Mara . no pace

I think RVP might be crooked as advertised and seems like a loan deal. I am not going to complain as him and abra are the best predators in the world as strikers.

Falcao and rooney being fed by Di maria and Mata and Herrera sounds very juicy.

What a window if true, I wonder what the rest of the day has in store for us:) beats the hell out of last summer I have to say.

Syd
I agree remy is great pick up for chelsea and very underrated. He will score a ton of goals for them.

01 Sep 2014 10:00:52
Apparently having too many no. 10s is so yesterday and totally lame. The thing right now is to have too many strikers. All the cool clubs are doing it.

01 Sep 2014 09:22:10
I don't understand chicarito going to madrid he will get less game time then he would of here

I believe he would be the second choice "striker" behind Benzema and will get more games than he would get here.

That is if he's able to play well and prove that he's good enough to play for Madrid.

I think he would do far better there than with us. Our team create hardly any normal chances, let alone poacher style chances. Just imagine the amount of rebounds he will get from Bale, Ronnie & Rodriguez pummelling the opposition. Not to mention the balls being put through by Kroos, Modric etc

Because of our system we need our strikers to be capable of holding the ball up and contributing to different phases of play, Chico is hopeless at that so best off playing for a team that he can at least use his main strength with.

Clever move as he will get lots of goals and therefore his value should go up, wouldn't be surprised if we sell him for £20mil+ next season because of this deal. We are being very astute here as loads of teams will fall for the trick, he may even do that well Madrid sign him.

What's not to understand? LvG doesn't want him. It's a good move for everyone.

01 Sep 2014 09:13:16
I've been going over our games so far this season and have come to a conclusion.

At no point have we lost or failed to win a game this season because of a lack of strength or a lack of being able to win the ball back. In all our games we have had the majority of possession.

We have given away silly goals due to individual mistakes brought on by not yet being comfortable with the new system. These will reduce as the players learn the new system and it becomes more natural to them.

But our poor start to the season has come from us not being able to open teams up or make the most of our possession. This has happened due to us making poor passing decisions and being too slow with the pass.

So with this in mind do we really need a Carvalho/De Jong type of player? I don't think so, certainly one wouldn't go a miss if we have spare cash to bring one in. But there isn't a burning need for one. There seems to be a british obsession with hard tackling midfielders.

What we really need is a deep lying playmaker, someone who'll move the ball intelligently and control the tempo of the game speeding it up or slowing it down as needed.

I think we have that player, his signing will.be announced soon. Welcome Daley Blind

I agree fabregas, kroos, Moutinho all fit that mold and so does Modric. Fergies knew what he was doing and so did moyes and it seems we have been after one for years now. Pjanic from Roma also fits the bill.

Vidal has that plus the strength to boss the midfield physically. his pass completion rate, assists and goals are superb and hence why he is the Ideal midfielder.

I also think we need to get a better crosser as a RWB.

Valencia cannot cross the ball at all, I think right now his crossing is worse than Bebe.

I agree Shappy. We need energy and creativity with our next central midfield signing ADM is not that player, he needs to be further forward for me.

We haven't acquired the commanding CB that we need, but it is a 3 window plan apparently - he can then move into midfield if necessary when teams play with one up front.

Could Strootman be the DM, operating as a CB - like on a pivot (Havent seen much of him to be fair)?

We are very slow and another holding midfielder in our set-up along with 3 CB's would make us even more defensive. I don't think the wingbacks offer enough yet obviously, so with our first choice wingbacks to come in and some box to box midfielders our strikers will get more chances. I am looking forward to seeing what impact Herrera will have once settled.

The formation is the key reason we don't create chances as it doesn't suit our relatively slow strikers and Mata, there are no options for them and starved of the ball, plus they don't create for themselves. With time running out we either need to change our personnel up top or change the system, if we don't we will continue to be tepid attacking wise.

01 Sep 2014 09:02:40
StevieK, glad you're ok mate. As for today, I would definitely recommend catching up on Hannibal. I though I was excellent. Enjoy that till early evening, then frick over to "deadline day" early evening. If you watch that all day you will be rocking back and forth in you armchair and dribbling over yourself by tea time!

Lol, should be "I thought IT was excellent", and "FLICK over to deadline day". Bloody phone.

01 Sep 2014 11:19:24
Cheers, Betty :)

01 Sep 2014 05:57:19
Hey eds.if anyone can clear my doubt . we have already spend a lot of money and we have sold players for very cheap . so let's say if mcfc can't buy falcao bec of ffp . y is that we don't fall under FFP. sory I'm alwz bit confused about this ffp regulations. n please answer.

{Ed002's Note - Try searching on FFPR on this page or the Arsenal page and you will find what you want. I am not spending time on that today.}

01 Sep 2014 07:27:01
Trying to keep my expectations low so as not to be devestated at the deadline, but the one thing I will say is that I'm shocked that anyone, never mind many posters, who rates Nigel de Jong is out of their mind. There's a reason he's not at a top club and I don't really want him at the club. There's desperation and then there's delusion.

Well KG, Nigel de Jong is not first choice by any means. Players like him are so underrated because they are not flashy, dynamic or technically gifted footballers but they do a job for the team - allowing others flair players in the team to flourish.

Everyone over here would like a Vidal/Carvalho but, if they are not coming, then it is better to get a player like Nigel de Jong to add some steel to our midfield. I would rather have him in the midfield rather than Carrick/Fletcher/Cleverly.

Or they are not overated as they just are not that good if De Jong was any good he would not be at milan

01 Sep 2014 05:14:48
Colombian journalist Saris Bello reporting that Falcao will join United for €65m on a four-year deal today.

She also claims Manchester City have been ruled out of a move for Falcao due to financial fair play rules.

01 Sep 2014 04:01:40
Although this transfer window has been a lot better than previous two in terms of bringing players in and clearing some deadwood, we are still short of resolving the main issues in the team.

We still need a commanding CB and a CM to complement our existing players and so far we have failed to address it, maybe we can bring in some quality players today. fingers crossed.

And I guess not a lot of us fans are happy with the timing of transfers as well as how it is conducted. We should have got players who are attainable, early in the window and later targeted World class ones(which takes time).

We could have got the likes of Blind, Nigel de Jong and Vlaar/similar early in the window which would have taken care of the major issues in the team and would have immensely helped us in the early games. Then we would have had the luxury of pursuing the likes of Vidal/Carvalho - Hummels/Benatia.

Right now, if we could get Nigel de Jong, Vlaar and maybe Lucas Silva(as backup and one for the future), I would be happy. Although would be nice to get Vidal/Carvalho and Hummels.

Let's see how the deadline day unfolds. fingers crossed!

01 Sep 2014 07:34:48
vidal carvalho hummels vilar reus think i'm dreaming just somebody in midfield who can win the balll and pass it forward not sideways

01 Sep 2014 00:47:29
Will be surprised to see Vidal end up here, remember strootman being LVG number one choice which would attract a good amount. don't see woody spending near 40 million to 2more cm that's 80 million in total suspect he may go for someone who knows what it takes to play in the LVG philosophy and that's De Jong which is a way cheaper option. hererra has already been bought and strootman will likely be in January and Carrick also to come. Also seems ando is in his plan. De Jong is a massive upgrade from fletcher.

Its not woodys money its the glazers money and if they feel there's a chance we won't make champions league again next year which would be a complete disaster for them finacially then they will spend how ever much it takes.